If you see me on the street wearing headphones, I’m not likely listening to music… What really has me hooked up lately are podcasts. Maybe because that way I feel like I’m making the most of my time, using times that otherwise would be “dead times” to listen to interesting things, learn and educate myself.
(Although those dead times are needed sometimes too haha)
I must not be the only one who’s in love with podcasts, since there are endless of them and more and more are created every day. That makes it difficult to know which one to choose when you want to search podcasts on a certain topic. In order to make it easier, here’s a list with my 10 favorite podcasts ordered by categories!
FAITH
Blessed is She: The Gathering Place
Blessed is She is an online community for Catholic women worldwide. I already spoke about it in the post about Catholic gifts. Their website is characterized by feminine and delicate aesthetics, unmistakably contemporary and with a classic balance at the same time. And, despite there’s nothing visual in a podcast, Jenna Guizar and Beth Davis have been able to transfer this spirit into audio.
The topics they touch with their guests are oriented towards helping women live their day-to-day life with Christ, be it at home with their family and friends, at work or at their prayer life. For example: how to adopt an abundance mindset instead of being jealous of God’s gifts to others, how to fill our heart with God’s love so we can then convey it through evangelization, or how to accompany and help people who’re living in a way that’s opposed to the commandments.
The Fountains of Carrots
Haley Stewart from Carrots for Michaelmas and Christy Isinger from Fountains of Home are two Catholic mothers, homeschoolers and with a great sense of humor. One of the things I like more is the complicity they have between them (and also with the guests they bring); as they’ve admitted sometimes, they could do a podcast even if no one listened to it, just as a phone call between friends. That allows you to connect a lot with them.
They touch a huge variety of faith-related topics: from how to live the liturgical year at home to curiosities of Church History, without avoiding more controversial topics such as the cases of abuses that are shaking the American Church.
The Word on Fire Show
The podcast of Bishop Robert Barron, creator of the Word on Fire platform. Very good to dive into theological and metaphysical issues: the Marian dogmas, Beauty, religion and science… Bonus point for the frequent use of expressions in Latin. At the end of each episode there’s also a section in which he answers questions that his listeners send to him, which are always interesting and sometimes tricky.
UMD Newman Catholic Campus Ministry Podcast
A podcast with the homilies of Fr. Mike Schmitz, one of my favorite “celebrity” priests. He also has a lot of videos at the Ascension Presents youtube channel (I never miss them). There are a lot of valuable points to take from each thing he speaks about, I really think Jesus speaks to me through him. He challenges me to reconsider how I’m living my relationship with God. I love how through his speeches there’s a keyword or key-phrase that’s repeated over and over, so it really gets fixed on your memory and then you can keep chewing over it in your prayers.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Do It Scared with Ruth Soukup
I’ve got started on blogging following this woman’s fantastic course, Elite Blog Academy, thanks to which I’ve been able to keep some sanity through the chaotic first steps of this job. Ruth is an exceptional woman, brave and courageous, a model of personal betterment and an example of how you can overcome anything in life. Her advice is clear and concise, with immediate practical application for your business. And the joy she radiates always motivates me when I want to give up.
Fitness Business School
Lauren Tickner is another of my favorite entrepreneurs. She’s a young girl (she’s one year younger than me!) who dropped out of university in order to build her dream and since then has grown a lot. She’s changed and evolved, what I like because that reminds me of the fact that we don’t have to stay at the place we began at. For example, she started dedicated exclusively to fitness and now however entrepreneurship and business are the main parts of her job. She mixes both on this podcast, which always gets down to the nitty-gritty of the concerns and problems of those of us who’re trying to take off in this industry.
Impact School
Another podcast by Lauren Tickner. I’m not ashamed to put her twice on this list because she deserves it. This one is more broadly about entrepreneurship, not limited to the fitness industry. Her guests are mostly young people who not only are succeeding economically, but are making a positive impact through their initiatives. Recently she’s also started to upload episodes with tips to improve the personal, social and professional life of the entrepreneur.
FITNESS
Strive for Strength
I didn’t know whether to include this one in the fitness or the entrepreneurship category, because actually it touches both topics (which is one of its strong points). Kendall Strampel, aka FearsToFit, is on a mission to help people —especially women— to overcome fears and prejudice and develop a healthy mindset towards exercise and food. On her podcast you’ll see episodes about eating disorders and body dysmorphia, about the scientific side of fitness, about how to help others reach their goals… In short, we connect really well 😉
The Jordan Syatt Mini Podcast
This fitness podcast is quite special because usually Jordan talks with his own clients, so the questions they bring up are truly relevant and the advice very applicable. It’s awesome when he invites someone again after a while and you can notice how much they’ve changed when it comes to their attitude, their self-confidence, their knowledge, etc. They don’t only talk about purely physical stuff (types of exercises, diets, etc.) but also about motivation and mental health.
NUTRITION
Sigma Nutrition Radio
Oddly enough, I only follow one nutrition podcast, and moreover, I’ve started to listen to it only recently. Danny Lennon is one of the most reliable nutrition experts of the Internet, and listening to him is so refreshing after being exposed to so much bullshit and scaremongering as there are nowadays. The scientific level is high, even to the point that sometimes it’s complicated to follow if you aren’t familiar with the concepts, but if you’re willing to do a bit of research on your own, it’s so worth it.
Well, now you have hours and hours available of first rate talks to fill your dead times and enrich your life physically and spiritually. Because every time is a good time to learn, get motivated and/or have a little fun!
